Audio
Esther Osche, Ojibwa historian and storyteller, White Fish River First Nation, Birch Island, Ontario
2.12 MB
When the Europeans first arrived, they were looking for furs, and our people were already well underway with their own trade systems throughout the country. And the Europeans were seeking to connect into this trade system, to use the same system our people used to barter and trade.
In the late 1500s and early 1600s, the Ojibwa would have come in contact with the French explorers. The French were very busy documenting their journeys through this area. They would have left the French River, travelled along the coast. They would have passed through Killarney, then come up through the inland lake system here. This is where our people lived. When the French arrived, they would have had to pass through a channel, and in this channel sat a great stone. And they heard and observed our people striking this stone, and the stone rang like a bell.
They would have observed our people striking this stone in a certain way, and this stone, the sound that came from the stone would travel and create a signal for other tribes to gather in this place. So this was the primary gathering place for the Ojibwa and Odawa tribes in this area. And so the name the traders gave to this stone was “La Cloche.” La Cloche in French means “the bell.” And this entire area was designated by the name La Cloche—the La Cloche Ridge, the La Cloche Mountains, the La Cloche Channels, and the La Cloche Islands—all from this contact between the Ojibwa and the French.